BookHouse brings bluesy rocker to library concert

Tonight, Eastern Monroe Public Library will play host to actor-singer-songwriter Lee Morgan in its popular BookHouse concert series.

A Shreveport, La., native who lives in Bucks County, Morgan starred in The Who's musical "Tommy" in its original Broadway cast.

Morgan, who plays blues harmonica, said that the writers specifically created a role in the show that allowed him to play his instrument.

He also had a lead role in "Brooklyn, the Musical" on Broadway. Rob Ramos, adult program coordinator of the library, said that he met Morgan after a performance of that show, and they kept in touch.

Morgan had also played in many off-Broadway productions, such as "Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver." A few years ago, he was the subject of a featured article in "Dramatics," an academic national theater magazine.

When his mom came to see him in the show, she brought him her guitar. With a lot of work and focus, he taught himself to play it. "Learning an instrument is very solitary. While you are learning it, you are also learning about yourself, and you don't even realize it," Morgan said.

Many of his original songs were composed in the quiet of hotel rooms while on tour.

Despite celebrity, Morgan didn't always have an easy time. His mom died of ovarian cancer, and a few months later, his younger brother died of AIDS. At the same time as they were ill, he had his baby daughter, Lucy Rose. "There were times I had my mother in one arm and my baby in the other," he said.

Although for most of his adult life, Morgan was primarily an actor, for the past two years he devoted himself entirely to his music.

He said that when he was younger, he tried to write songs, but they were either filled with teenage angst or of the Beatles "he loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah" variety.

"That wasn't what ultimately drove me to become a singer-songwriter. I needed poetry and I needed it to be real," Morgan said.

It wasn't until after he had "taken enough breaths" that he had begun to seriously write music. "I write about life," he said.

Morgan, who has been married to writer Shelle Sumners since 1985, said, "When you do your entire life with one person, you go through a lot together. You find out how to deepen and grow under all circumstances and come out larger and more whole."

After he moved to Bucks County from New York, Morgan began to explore the musical scene in Philadelphia. One night he walked into an open mike event at a café in Philadelphia and performed. He was about to walk out to find another place to sing when the owner asked where he was going and suggested he stay awhile.

It turned out that, unknown to Morgan, they were having a contest that evening. He'd won. It was at Philadelphia Café Live's Cream: the Best of Philly Rising.

Morgan now has a large following in the Philadelphia area. He was even featured in Philadelphia's music publication "Origivation."

Morgan is also collaborating with his wife on a book called "Grace Grows," soon to be published by St. Martin's Press. "It will be an enhanced e-book." When the main character's boyfriend sings to her, the person reading the book can actually hear the songs, which were written and performed by Morgan.

Ramos said that Morgan has a strong rock and blues voice. "It's a bluesy kind of rock with songs that have both strong melodies and lyrics," he said. Morgan's earthy, solid style can be called "Soul Folk," Ramos said.

The BookHouse concerts were started at the library 13 years ago to offer free cultural evenings to the community. Barbara Keiser of Stroudsburg, director of EMPL, said, "The concerts provide a venue for literary and musical events that are outside the commercial mainstream."

On concert nights, the library closes at 6 p.m. and re-opens at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. program. Concerts consist of two 45-minute sets and an intermission.

Finances have taken their toll on the concert series, though. "We used to have them as many as 10 times a year. Now, because of budget (constraints), we try to have them about four times a year," Ramos said.

The concerts are still free, but donations are accepted.

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